keiter



F. H. BEAMER, G. W. BUSWELL & W. 0. KEITER.

GAME BOARD.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 28, 1915.

1,1 95, l '73 Patented Aug. 22, 1916.

EMT Eb: PATENT FFTQE.

FRANK H. BEAMER AND GEORGE W. BUSWELL, OF BUFFALO, AND WALTER O. KEITER, OF LOCKPORT, NEW YORK.

GAME-BOARD.

Application filed June 28, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, FRANK H. BEAMER, G eener; N. BUSWELL, and \VALTER O. Km'rnn, citizens of the United States; said FRANK H. BEAMER and GEORGE \V. BUswELL 'residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, and said VALTER O. KEITER residing at- Lockport, in the county of Niagara and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Game-Boards, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to an improved game board, and more particularly to that class of game boards in which a ball or balls are adapted to be moved over the surface of a board from a starting point to a goal, the balls being impelled or moved about on the board by means of sticks or other similar devices.

The primary object of our invention is to provide a game board requiring a considerable degree of skill and which will at the same time afi'ord amusement to both old or young persons.

Another object of our invention is to provide a game board with a starting point from which a ball is adapted to be moved or impelled by one of the players; a goal to which the ball is adapted to be directed; numerous obstructions between the starting point and goal arranged to provide circuitous passages between the obstructions, and a second ball adapted to be moved about or impelled on the game board by the other player so as to come in contact with the ball of the first-mentioned player, if pos sible, while the latter is attempting to move or impel his ball to the goal.

A further object is the provision of a game board on which two balls of different sizes are moved about or impelled by the players, the board having numerous obstructions and passages between and around the obstructions, some of the passages being of a size to permit the smaller ball only to be passed therethrough, while others are of a size to permit both balls to be passed therethrough, the narrow passages being used as escape or protecting passages for the smaller ball.

WVith these and other objects in View, the invention consists in the arrangement of parts and in the novel features of construe,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 22, 1916.

Serial No. 36,732.

ing side walls B and end walls 7) serving as curbs to confine the balls for play upon the board.

C, 0 are the balls adapted to be moved or impelled on the board, these balls being, respectively, large and small, one being used by each player.

Near one end of the board a transverselydisposed rail or wall D is provided which forms a pocket cl in which the small ball a is placed preparatory to starting the game. The starting point for the small ball is therefore within said pocket. Midway between its ends this pocket has communicating therewith a passage E which opens into a playing field G, said passage being provided with an upwardly inclined bottom F forming an abrupt outer end f. The ball 0 is adapted to be moved or driven over the incline F of the passage E and therefore after reaching the playing field it cannot be returned to the pocket D.

Directly in advance of the passage E is a triangular deflecting obstruction H, flanked by two obliquely-disposed obstructions or guards h. These flanking obstructions or guards are spaced from the triangular obstruction H by intervening passages I, and they are also spaced from each other at their adjacent ends by a passage i, the opposite ends of said flanking obstructions being spaced from the side walls B by passages J.

Arranged centrally on the board is a series of obstructions or guards which are so disposed that they radiate from a common point, said obstructions or guards being designated by the reference letters K, K, K, It, the outer ends of which are a considerable distance from the curb wall so as to provide an open space or field for easy manipulation of the balls around these obstructions or guards. The obstruction or guard 70 is somewhat narrower than the obstructions or guards K, and the inner end thereof extends between the two obstructions or guards K arranged at right angles thereto. Passages are created between the inner ends of these central obstructions or guards, those between the inner or adjacent ends of the guards K being designated by the letter L, while those between the obstruction or guard Z: and the guards K arranged at right angles thereto are designated by the letter Z. The passages L are of a size to permit both balls to be passed thcrethrough, while the passages Z are of a diminished size and permit only the smaller ball 0 to pass theretln'ough. These passages Z may therefore be termed safety or protecting passages for the smaller ball.

At the end of the board, opposite the pocket cl is arranged a goal M, this goal being formed by two strips or bars we converging from the end wall 5 and spaced apart at their adjacent ends by an entrance passage N leading into the goal, the latter being in the form of a pocket of which the end wall 5 and the bars or strips M form the confining walls. In advance of the goal and spaced from the inner ends of the strips or bars on is a transversely-disposed guard 0. This guard is in the form of a strip or bar fastened to the board in any suitable manner and spaced from the side walls or curbs, it being approximately onequarter of the width of the board so as to allow considerable playing space at opposite ends thereof. The exact length of the guard, however, is immaterial so long as convenient access may be had to the goal from the playing spaces at opposite ends of the guard.

Arranged in a plane between the goal and the center obstructions or guards is a pair of guards P inclined with respect to the side walls or curbs, these guards being in the form of strips or bars secured to the board in any suitable manner and having the spaces 7? separating them from the side walls or curbs gradually diminished in size toward the end of the board at which the goal is located.

For convenience in further describing the invention we will refer to that end of the board at which the goal is located as the upper end. The end at which the pocket (Z is located, we will term the lower end. The inclined guards P have their upper ends cut away obliquely, as at Q, to provide parallel sided extensions Q of the spaces 10. These extensions, or exits as they may also be termed, of the spaces 2? are of a size to permit the smaller ball 0 only to pass therethrough. The extensions 9 are, also safety or protecting passages for the small ball 0.

It represents the manipulating sticks or impellers, which are curved at their playing or contact ends, as at r, similar to a hockey stick; this being found most convenient for moving or impelling the balls about on the board, although it is to be understood that sticks of different formation, or other means may be employed to move the balls about, if desired.

We have found it desi'able to insert at the upper corners of the board, and also at the angles formed by the side walls B and the pocket wall D, triangular shaped blocks S. In this manner all right angled corners are avoided, which would be a detriment to the game, since the balls would lodge in such angles or corners and it would be diflicult to remove them therefrom. F or example,if the smaller ball reached a right angled corner it would be extremely difficult to remove the same with one of the manipulating or impelling sticks, and while the player to whom this ball belonged was exerting himself to move the smaller ball, the player having the larger ball could quickly impel or move the latter into the corner, and by striking or coming in contact with the smaller ball gain the count against the other player, and as these balls are quickly moved about from one position to the other on the board, the player having the smaller ball would have a diflicult task to prevent said ball entering the angle or corner. These triangular corner members are therefore desirable features of our invention. With a view of increasing the skill required in playing the game, we have also provided triangular deflecting guards T at opposite sides of the board in the plane of the central obstructions or guards and slightly in advance or forward of the entrance to the passages 29. These triangular deflecting guards render it diflicult to pass the balls into the passages ,0, except that they be in direct line with the inner half of said passages, or that the balls be positioned between the central guards and the side deflecting guards.

In playing the game on this board, the large ball is placed at the upper end of the playing field while the small ball is placed within the pocket D at the lower end of the board. The player having the small ball commences the game by placing his impelling stick in contact with his ball and forcing the same upwardly through the passage 13. The player having the large ball may then move his ball downwardly to meet the small ball, if possible. The player having the small ball impels or moves his ball about,

forwardly, rearwardly, laterally, or in any direction so as to avoid the large ball, the purpose being to move the small ball so as to enter the goal without having the large ball come in contact therewith, the small ball being passed between and around obstructions, and when necessary to escape from the large ball the small ball will be passed through the safety or protecting passages, making it necessary for the larger ball to be passed around the obstruction to meet or catch the smaller ball escaping through the escape or protection passages. No set rules as to the exact course these balls are to take are necessary, and the player having the small ball is entitled to a certain count in the event of his gaining the goal, while the player having the large ball is entitled to the same count, or a smaller or larger count, as may be desired, should he be able to bring his ball into contact with the small ball before the latter reaches the goal. The game may be continued until a predetermined count is reached by either party.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is,

1. A game board having a starting point and a goal at opposite ends thereof, a plurality of obstructions between said starting point and said goal, said obstructions forming passages of different sizes, and a pair of spherical elements adapted to be moved about 011 the board and be passed through said passages, said spherical elements being of different sizes and only one being capable of passing through all of said passages.

2. A game board having a starting point, a goal, a playing field between said starting point and goal provided with numerous obstructions and passages between and around said obstructions, said passages being of dif ferent sizes, and a pair of balls adapted to be moved about on said playing field and through the passages thereon, said balls being of different sizes so that one of the balls is prevented from being passed through the smaller passages.

3. A game board comprising a board serving as a playing field, a curb wall surrounding said board, a transversely-disposed wall near one end of said board forming a pocket, a passage having an inclined bottom leading from said pocket to the playing field, a goal at the opposite end of the board in line with said inclined bottom, a guard in advance of said goal, and raised obstructions forming passages through which playing elements are adapted to be passed.

4. A game board comprising a curb wall surrounding said board, a starting point at one end of the board, a goal at the opposite end of the board, a series of radially-disposed obstructions arranged centrally on the board, other obstructions surrounding said radiallydisposed obstructions, and a pair of balls adapted to be moved about on said board between and around said obstructions, one of said balls being adapted to be moved from the starting point to the goal and the other being adapted to be moved to meet and come in contact with the first-mentioned ball.

A game board comprising a board, a curb wall surrounding the board, a transverse partition near one end of the board having a passage therethrough, a triangular obstruction forward of and in line with said passage, flanking obstructions at opposite sides of said triangular obstruction, a goal at the opposite end of said board, and a plurality of obstructions forming passages and positioned between said flanking obstructions and said goal.

6. A game board comprising a board, a curb wall surrounding said board, astarting point at one end of said board, a goal at the other end of said board comprising a pair of converging strips or bars spaced apart at their adjacent ends to provide a passage into said goal, a transversely-disposed guard in advance of said passage, and obstructions between said transversely-disposed guard and said starting point.

7. A playing board over which spherical playing elements are adapted to be moved, comprising a. board, a starting point at one end of said board, a goal at the other end thereof, a. transversely-disposed guard in front of said goal, a series of radially-disposed obstructions arranged centrally on said board and separated from each other by passages, a pair of obliquely-disposed guards in a plane between said radiallydisposed obstructions and said goal, said obliquely-disposed guards being separated from the side or curb walls by passages, a pair of flanking obstructions between said radially-disposed obstructions and the starting point, and a triangular shaped obstruction between said flanking obstructions.

8. A game board comprising a board serving as a playing field, a curb wall surrounding said playing field, a starting point at one end of said board, a goal at the other end thereof, a series of radially-disposed obstructions separated from each other to provide passages, at least one of said passages being smaller than the others, and a pair of differently sized balls associated with said board and adapted to be moved about on said playing field and through the said passages, one of said balls being capable of being passed through said small passage.

9. A game board comprising a board serving as a playing field, a series of raised obstructions on said board radiating from a common point and spaced from each other to provide passages therebetween, said passages being of different sizes, and a pair of balls of different sizes associated with said board, one of said balls being of a size to prevent its being passed through the smaller passages between said obstructions.

10. A game board comprising a board, a starting point at one end and a goal at the other end of said board, a curb wall surrounding said board, an obliquely-disposed raised obstruction on the board at each side thereof, said obstructions being spaced from the curb walls at the sides with the spaces between the two gradually diminished in one direction, the exits of said spaces being comparatively narrow, other raised obstructions on said board, and a pair of balls adapted to be moved about on said board, said balls being of different sizes so that only one may be passed through said exits.

11. A game board comprising a board having a starting point at one end and a goal at its other end, a curb wall surrounding said board, a triangular raised obstruction in line with said starting point and directly in advance of the same, flanking obstructions at opposite sides of said triangular obstruction, a series of obstructions arranged centrally on the board and radiating from a common point, said radiating obstructions being separated from each other to provide passages of two different sizes, triangular deflecting obstructions at opposite sides of said radially-disposed obstructions, a pair of obliquely-disposed obstructions spaced from the side curb Walls by gradually diminished spaces having narrow exit passages, a guard in advance of said goal, .and a pair of balls of different sizes adapted to be moved about on said board and be passed through said passages, the smaller of said balls only being adapted to pass through the narrow passages.

In testimony whereof, We have a'fiixed our 80 signatures. FRANK H. BEAMER. GEORGE V. BUSVVELL. l YALTER O. KEITER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

